ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Sam Stevens has a sense of timing when it comes to making holes-in-one.
He has two in competition: one in his first professional start on the Canadian Tour in 2018 that helped him make his first cut, and the other during the final round of the RSM Classic on Nov. 23, kick-starting a 63 at the Sea Island Resort Seaside Course that vaulted him from a tie for 33rd to start the day to a tie for third when he finished, at 18-under 264.
Stevens eventually fell into a tie for seventh, five shots behind winner Sami Valimaki.
Stevens used a 6-iron from 198 yards out at the third hole to make the 10th ace in tournament history and the first since Nico Echavarria in 2023 (No. 6). It was the 26th hole-in-one on the PGA Tour, in the final event of the season.
The ball landed about 3 feet short of the hole, bounced twice and dribbled in.
Hole at No. 3 was blocked from view
Stevens couldn’t see the Titleist Pro-V1 No. 1 go into the hole, which was cut on the front-left, because the lip of a large bunker was obscuring the cup. There were only a handful of spectators behind the green, and they gave him polite applause — but not enough to let him know that the ball had gone in.
“They didn’t want to hoot and holler too much because they might be too loud,” said the former Oklahoma State player who has yet to win on the PGA Tour but enjoyed a solid season with 10 top-25 finishes and a ranking of 38th on the FedEx Cup Fall points entering the tournament. “Got some claps and maybe one yell. We thought it was just real close.”
Stevens finally got a thumbs-up from a Golf Channel camera operator, but still wanted to make sure the ball was in the hole.
“Didn’t get too excited until I got over the bunker, made sure it was in,” he said.
Sam Stevens didn’t ‘chicken out’
Stevens said the shot was a bit into the wind, but he avoided a tendency for players to play to the right on a hole that starts a difficult stretch along a vast marsh and is exposed to the wind off the St. Simons Sound.
“I didn’t chicken out and bail it right,” he said. “I actually made a good swing, and it worked out good for me.”
Stevens took the ball out of play and said he would give it to his oldest son, David.
“It was a nice way to start the day, he said. “Going into today, I’m not really playing with a whole lot of pressure but trying to shoot a low one and do as well as I can. I haven’t had [a hole-in-one] one out here on Tour and to get it early in the round and to kind of get the mojo going early was nice and kind of kept it rolling the whole day.”
Sam Stevens finished strong
Steven was 1-under over the final six holes of the front nine, then birdied Nos. 10 and 13. His second shot at the 10th took a peek at the hole and came to rest 18 inches away.
He birdied four of his last six holes, all on putts of 10 feet or less.
Stevens made his first ace after gaining entry to a Canadian Tour event through a Monday qualifier. He then made the hole-in-one in the second round when he was on the cut line.
He has nine other holes-in-one during recreational rounds, mostly with his caddie and long-time friend Will Dennis.
“We grew up [in Fort Worth, Texas] playing a bunch together, so I made a few on him, probably won a couple Cokes off of him or a hot dog,” Stevens said. “Nothing too special about any of them … went in the hole, that’s special I guess.”
Staying in position for Masters invite
While Stevens wasn’t playing this week with his job at stake, he is No. 48 in the world and is determined to stay within the top 50 to earn a Masters invitation next year.
“I’m not playing for a ton … I’m kind of right on the bubble of top-50 in the world … so every shot, every world ranking point counts. So it wasn’t like I wasn’t playing for anything, but definitely playing with a lot more freedom than those guys that are on the bubble and working for their job next year. I’m in a nice spot. If I can just play well at some point between now and next April, I’ll get in.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sam Stevens makes the first ace in RSM Classic since 2023, 10th overall
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
